A £5.5 million scheme to upgrade Worcester’s crematorium has been backed by the city council.

Councillors voted unanimously to replace Astwood Crematorium’s three gas-powered cremators with two modern electric furnaces at a full council meeting on Tuesday (July 9).

Cllr Louis Stephen said the current cremators are 27 years old and won’t comply with environmental legislation if they are not replaced and are “a major cause of CO2 emissions”.

“This one part of the council’s operations accounts for 18 percent of our CO2 emissions,” he said. “It comes to hundreds of tonnes per year.”

The works are set to start in May 2025 and will take around nine months to finish, during which time the crematorium will be closed - although the cemetery as a whole will remain open.

Cllr Jessie Jagger described the project as a “sensible and important investment”.

Cllr Jabba Riaz said it was a “huge investment” in the city and was not only a big step towards the “elusive net zero” but showed the council’s commitment to bereavement services.

He said the cemetery will remain open for burials, adding: “It will just be a slightly different way of working.

“The key for us is managing that user experience while the cremating facility is down so that visitors have access to their loved ones to pay their respects in a dignified manner.”

An emotional Cllr Alex Mace said: “This is close to my heart as this is where we said goodbye to my daughter after my wife Katie miscarried after 19 weeks in 2012.

“We travel through the cemetery every week as well on the St Barnabas bike bus as well so it is something that’s close to my heart.

“I think it will make it a desirable location for people to say goodbye to their loved ones. I know we’ve lost business to other providers who are undercutting us and in these lean times this is an important investment for us to make for our residents.”